


Double Dose of Sacrifice

by Stratagem



Series: Lion Cub [17]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura's hurt, F/M, Gen, Hereditary Magic, It's just not a happy time right now, Keith's in a healing pod, Self-Sacrifice, Team as Family, Voltron loses a battle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2017-06-05
Packaged: 2018-11-09 05:24:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11097801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stratagem/pseuds/Stratagem
Summary: It's a family tradition, sacrificing yourself for others. Allura does it. So does Shiro. They just wish their daughter hadn't inherited that particular trait.





	Double Dose of Sacrifice

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to play with the idea of how the ship can wormhole and the fact that the entire Shallura family is a bunch of self-sacrificing sweethearts. Emi can't help it, she got it honest. She's nine here! And here's the whole Shallura family being self-sacrificial.

"There're too many of them!"

"This isn't working, we need to fall back."

"Allura!"

In her dad's flight chair on the bridge, her legs drawn up to her chest, Emi watched the monitors and screens with wide, scared eyes. That had been her dad's voice, yelling her mum's name. Allura had gone out using one of the small, sleek fighter ships, leaving the ship in Coran's control while she tried to distract the enemy from the lions' position. She had taken out a dozen ships before they pinned her down, catching her in crossfire.

Coran's hands sped across the castle's controls, trying to defend against the onslaught of enemy fighters. The Karis Initiative had ambushed them while the paladins were investigating a distress call at an abandoned space station near the rings of W'kal. With Keith still in a healing pod from an encounter with the Initiative last week and Red currently in repair mode, the other paladins were unable to form Voltron and the Initiative had shown up in full force.

"What happened?" Coran demanded, opening a direct link to Shiro's com.

"She was flanked, one of her engines is out. I've got her ship, but she's not answering," he said, worry coloring his voice. "I think she's unconscious."

"There's another squad coming around the moon," Pidge yelled.

A screen popped up in front of Coran and Emi, showing the squad of oval-shaped ships as they barreled toward the lions.

"Everyone, back to the castle!"

"No way, we've got this-"

"Now, Lance!"

"I hate retreating…"

Emi wanted to cover her ears and hide. She was supposed to be in an escape pod anyways. That was the rule, though she had stopped following it strictly a couple years ago. It was agony waiting alone in an escape pod and not knowing what was going on. It was frightening, but she preferred staying on the bridge.

"We need to wormhole out of here," Hunk said over the com. His face popped up on the screens, sweat-streaked and worried. "Because, not to freak out anyone or anything, but there's another squad incoming."

It appeared on the monitors, whatever cloaking devices they had been using falling away. There was a battle class ship with them, surging behind the others, cannons glowing at the ready.

"Coran, what do we do?" Emi asked, jumping out her the seat and running over to him, her bare feet slapping against the floor. "What if mum can't jump the ship?"

"We'll, well—you know—" He turned away from her, tapping against his control panel. "Shiro, have you docked yet? How's Allura?"

"We're in, and but I can't get her ship open. The cockpit is stuck. Is Emi with you?"

"Yes, actually."

"Is Mum okay? Why isn't she talking?"

"Emi, it's going to be all right."

She wanted to hug someone, but Coran was incredibly busy and he was the only one there. Instead, she clenched the edge of the control panel. "You didn't say if she was okay!"

"Don't we have enough back-up Allura energy to wormhole?" Lance cut in over Emi's panic.

"Not this time, no," Coran said. He turned from one panel to another, whipping back and forth between them. "The residual energy supply is currently depleted."

"I'll go back out and keep them busy while you get out of here, Coran," Shiro said, "Hunk, I need you to get Allura out of her ship. Pidge, go help Coran with Castle defenses. Lance…"

"I'll go with you, Shiro," said the blue paladin, sounding serious.

Emi felt terror well up inside her. Her mum wasn't okay. They needed to leave, but they couldn't because her mum wasn't okay, and if they couldn't leave, her dad and Lance were going to go face too many ships. They just needed a wormhole, if they had a wormhole everyone could escape.

She knew how to do it. Her mom had explained it once. Sort of.

" _You connect with the ship. It's as if you temporarily become a part of it, and you mustn't lose yourself. I'll show you how when you're older,_ camya _. You have to be careful…"_

She was older now, but maybe she would have to learn by doing and without guidance. She desperately wanted her mum, but she knew she had to be brave now. Her family needed her.

"I can do it," Emi said quietly, mostly to herself. Before Coran could register what she had said, she darted over to her mother's control area. The two control posts were a little shorter than she was. She placed her hands on the two posts and tried to connect with the ship. Nothing. "Come on, come on, I can do this. Please, castle!"

" _Patience yields focus_."

She needed focus but patience was so hard to find right now… Taking a deep breath, she tried to focus first, hoping that patience followed. Suddenly something snapped together in her mind. She could feel the ship around her, and it knew what to do. It just needed to guide her.

By his control station, Coran noticed the hangar bays lock down just as the black and blue lions started to go back out into the field. Shiro and Lance both had to stop abruptly, pulling back. In front of the Castle, a wormhole whirled into tentative existence, crackling and shaky.

"Coran, what's going on?" Shiro asked.

"Yeah, I'm shut in," Lance added, "We need to get back out there."

"I don't know how, but there's a wormhole," Coran said, staring down at the control panel. Had there actually been a reserve trace of Allura's power? Unless— Fear snatched at him, and he turned to where Emi had been standing at his elbow. She was gone, she was… Standing with her hands on the control posts, eyes unfocused. No, no, she wasn't trained, she didn't know what she was doing. But the wormhole was opened with its coordinates near Earth's moon.

"Let's get out of here!" Hunk shouted.

"How?" demanded Shiro, "How is there a wormhole?"

Coran rapidly started the jump sequence, sending the Castle into the wormhole and pointedly not answering Shiro. He must have guessed what had happened. As the Castle dove into the wormhole, it closed up behind them, cutting them off from the enemy.

His heart pounding, Coran raced over to Allura's control posts, wondering how to stop the connection between the ship and Emi without it damaging her. This child was practically his granddaughter, and if he didn't do something, the ship could potentially consume her mind.

"My sweet girl, you have to let go," he said, reaching over and putting his hands over hers on the control posts. He wanted to pry her away, but she had to let go on her own.

"Coran!" This time it was Allura's voice, and her face appeared on one of the view screens. Blood trickled down her forehead, and Shiro was partially holding her up, but she was awake. Relief at seeing her warred with his concern for his granddaughter. "Where's Emi?" She knew that her daughter would be the only one who could use the wormhole system besides her.

"We need you up here, Allura," he said shakily, stepping to the side so she could see the girl. "As soon as possible."

If anyone could call Emi back, it would be Allura.

**Author's Note:**

> Camya - Altean for heart (I am silly and made it up)


End file.
